Buried Beds offered up a free download of “Oh Lonely Fortress!” this week for their Unlocked profile. The song comes from the local band’s new LP In Spirit, an album that “was inspired by both fairy tales and fantastical real-life events.” Download the track below and dig into the new album with a review, interview, new video and more here.

Mean Lady, an electro-pop band that draws from a potpourri of influences, recorded this week’s Key Studio Session. The duo comes from Newark, DE and released their debut LP Love Now on Fat Possum earlier this year. stream and download “One Big Family” below and check out the rest of the set, including some new songs, here.

Indie-rockers Avery Rosewater have shared a new song, “Two Bridges,” that you can download below. Lead by Julien Rossow-Greenberg (of Arches) on lead vocals and guitar, Kevin Kearney (Arches) on drums, Kevin Comly (Gold Julius) on bass and Jordan Mrazik on guitar, the band is playing this Friday night, September 27th at Kung Fu Necktie upstairs, and at Boot and Saddle on Sunday, October 6th, opening for Elf Power. Recorded in Julien’s basement this past Summer, “Two Bridges” is a seductively melodic tune that conjours up the guitar spirits of Luna and Built to Spill with a catchy, sharp guitar hook. Listen/download it below. Be on the lookout for a new tape on Treetop Sorbet Recordings late Fall.

Local tastemaker blog Yvynyl is this month’s Tuesday Tune-Out curator at PhilaMOCA and they’re bringing Philly bands Neighborhood Choir and Avery Rosewater to the stage. Neighborhood Choir is a dream-pop project from Bennett Daniels; you can learn more about him in an interview with The Key here. Avery Rosewater is newish project from seasoned city musicians – check out their interview here. Following the music, Daniels will screen a film to close out the night. Information can be found on the Facebook event page here. Below, watch Avery Rosewater perform “Wright” for Out of Town Films and stream Neighborhood Choir’s “Seafoam Green.”

Matt Marchinowski of Big School Records is moving out of Philadelphia. To celebrate his time here, Marchinowski has pieced together a snapshot of the local music scene with a 27-track mixtape called Philamixington II, available as a free download via his Tumblr. The second installment in the local music mixtape series, this collection samples various genres, circles and side projects with tracks from radio favorites like Cheers Elephant (pictured), basement staples Roof Doctor and The Hundred Acre Woods and new-projects-from-old-buddies like Avery Rosewater. From Marchinowski:

Although April will see my moving out of Philadelphia for the peaceful confines of the sticks I will still consider its scene ‘home’. It wasn’t easy narrowing this collection down to 27 jawns but I can assure you it won’t be the last notch in the Philamixington series.

Download the full mixtape for free on Beat the Indie Drum here and stream a sampling of the tracks below. The first Philamixington set can be downloaded here.

Brand new Philly band Avery Rosewater invited Out of Town Films into their kitchen recently for a live session recording of “Wright.” It’s a poppy number with psychedelic flirtations that is reminiscent of a War on Drugs / Real Estate hybrid and ties in nicely with their debut single “Havana,” which they released shortly before the new year. As we learned in this interview the band did with The Key, Avery Rosewater may be new on the scene but it’s members certainly aren’t – lead singer / guitarist Julien Rossow-Greenberg and drummer Kevin Kearney came from Arches, while bass player Kevin Comly records as Gold Julius. Comly, Kearney and guitarist Jordan Mrazik also perform as Fireside Chats. Watch the video for “Wright” below and stay tuned for two more takes from the kitchen session.

Local indie rockers Avery Rosewater seemed to appeared on the scene out of nowhere around the end of last year with the release of their impressive debut single “Havana” and a New Year’s Eve gig opening for The War On Drugs. However that is not entirely the case. The group is made up of four close friends and neighbors who have been around the city’s indie scene for awhile in various projects. Avery Rosewater is lead by Julien Rossow-Greenberg (of Arches, and a few solo releases) on lead vocals and guitar, Kevin Kearney (Arches) on drums, Kevin Comly (Gold Julius) on bass and Jordan Mrazik on guitar. With a gig coming up on February 7th at Kung Fu Necktie opening for Laser Background, The Key recently caught up with the new four-piece via email to find out who exactly Avery Rosewater is.

The Key: What made you all want to form a band together?

Julien Rossow-Greenberg: Kev and I had some songs that we wanted to flesh out with a full band. We asked Comly and Jordan to play because they’re our best friends. We just wanted to rock out in the basement.

TK: Why/how did you decide on the name Avery Rosewater? Is he a real person? Based off a real person?

Kevin Kearney: Eliot Rosewater is the name of the main character from Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, which is one of my favorite books. No one wanted to use Eliot, so we came upon Avery…somehow.

TK: I know Julien was/is in Arches and releases solo stuff and Kevin was/is in Gold Julius…what are the statuses of those bands/projects?

JRG: Gold Julius is definitely still happening for Comly. Arches is no more.

KK: Comly’s releasing a seafood opera. Look out for it.

Kevin Comly: That’s not a joke, the seafood opera is definitely happening, it’s just going to take several years to materialize. Materialize isn’t even the right word, because it’s sort of a way-of-life thing, not an actual…thing. I’m also working on a way to present Gold Julius in a live setting, which will be soon and 100% real. Continue reading →

“I’m not going to stand here and tell you when it’s midnight,” Adam Granduciel told the New Year’s Eve crowd at Johnny Brenda’s. “You can work that out amongst yourselves.”

If he was attempting to play coy – like this was just another rock and roll show, rather than one of the biggest nights of the year with one of the biggest bands in Philly – Granduciel’s true excitement to be ringing in 2013 with The War on Drugs showed through in other ways. He handed out streamers to the capacity crowd before the set. He had a posterboard of multi-colored Jello shots spelling out the band’s name waiting in the wings (Key contributor Nikki Volpicelli posted a photo of this on her Philadelphia Area Music Showcase blog). And he timed the set perfectly, so the krautrock rhythms of “Your Love Is Calling My Name” raced nearly to midnight, then dipped into the genteel space jam “The Animator” while the clock (somewhere) struck 12. As streamers popped open, confetti flew and champagne was poured, the band closed the trilogy with an outstanding, moving rendition of “Come To The City,” the centerpiece of their 2011 album Slave Ambient. But the show was just getting going. Continue reading →

Purling Hiss have a deeply satisfying way of drawing from the red, white and blue wells of 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s rock to inform their own sound, giving things a retro ring while doing what they do in the Philadelphia of today – and no other time could apply, really. Water On Mars is heavy stuff from Purling Hiss, unknotting the strings that tangled all their previous records together so righteously to reveal – another, greater storm within.

Purling Hiss will open for The War on Drugs’ New Year’s Eve show at Johnny Brenda’s with Avery Rosewater. Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here. Below, watch Purling Hiss’ Shaking Through Session when they recorded the song “Lolita” and check out the track-list for Water on Mars.

About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH

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About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH